


Doughnuts and Sweethearts

by pandragonman



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - No Sburb Session, Alternate Universe - No Sburb/Sgrub Sessions, Humanstuck, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-05
Updated: 2018-08-02
Packaged: 2019-06-05 17:02:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,317
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15175295
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pandragonman/pseuds/pandragonman
Summary: Dave and Karkat are entering their sophomore year of high school and they keep running into each other, becoming acquaintances soon enough, but when Dave accepts an invitation to have dinner at Karkat's house they'll find themselves growing closer than ever.





	1. He Moved Through the Store

It was an early Tuesday morning the week before sophomore year was supposed to start, and Karkat was working in his family’s doughnut shop.  It wasn’t anything big, just an average hole in the wall bakery you’d see on the side of any old road by a gas station or a walmart, but it was very central to the community.  If you were getting food to bring to an event you came there, and their baked goods were the best you could find for miles. Karkat was the only one working the counter that day, and he’d gotten into the rhythm of things, working while zoning out to whatever came on the radio.

 

_ “My young love said to me _

_ My mother won’t mind _

_ And my father won’t slight you, for your lack of kind.” _

“yo”

_ “Then he stepped away from me _

_ And this he did say” _

“hey man are you alright?”

_ “It will not be long love, ‘til our wedding day.” _

 

**_DING_ **

“KARKAT. S9ME9NE’S AT THE C9UNTER, HELP THEM” Suddenly startled by Kankri’s voice, Karkat found himself face to face with a blond guy in a pair of shades.   
“(FUCK) SORRY MAN, HOW CAN I HELP YOU?”  He was embarrassed that he got so distracted but it was hard not to be when he hadn’t managed to get a good night’s sleep recently.  “s’cool dude, i’ll just take a couple kolaches and a dozen donut holes” the guy said calmly. Karkat was relieved that he didn’t hold it against him or demand to see the manager, but he was still shaken that he’d let himself become so unfocused that someone had to yell to get his attention.  He prepared the order in silence and handed the bag to the man, whispering to him a thanks for not pushing the issue. “Its 9n the h9use, s9rry a69ut Karkat, I d9n’t kn9w what g9t int9 him.” Kankri interrupted, approaching the counter. “HEY FUCK OFF.” Karkat responded. “D9n’t swear in fr9nt of the cust9mers Karkat, its rude.”  Kankri shot back. “hey i just want the ‘nuts dude I don’t need to hear about your family drama” The guy in aviators took the bag and began to leave, turning just before he got out the door to say, “see ya next week karkat.” “Y9u c9me 6ack n9w!” Kankri said as he left, looking to Karkat afterwards to say “We have g9t t9 w9rk 9n y9ur cust9mer service skills.”  Karkat simply stuck his tongue out and wrinkled his nose in reply.

 

The rest of the morning passed without incident, Karkat handling orders and his family working the kitchen, Kankri occasionally helping out at the counter when it got really busy.  Karkat clocked out by 11 and headed home, but was stopped on the way when the blond kid from earlier ran into him. “WATCH WHERE YOU’RE GOING ASSHOLE.” Karkat yelled. “oh shit its doughnut guy, didn’t expect to see you so soon karkat.  can’t blame you though; hard to stay away from my striderly magnetism.” Strider replied. “WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT, YOU RAN INTO ME?” “i ran into you, you ran into me, doesn’t make much difference now dude. Hey you’re off work now, right?  Wanna hang out?” Karkat was taken aback by the question, and frankly a little annoyed that he’d just brush off the incident like it was nothing. Strider held out a hand, at which point Karkat remembered he was on the ground. “name’s dave, by the way.” Karkat stared at him for a few more moments, blinking.  “c’mon kat my arm’s gettin’ tired, you comin’ or not?” Dave said. Karkat took his hand and began to follow him.

 

They’d been walking for nearly an hour when Karkat asked, “ALRIGHT WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU LEADING ME?  WE’VE BEEN WALKING FOREVER” “i’m hungry man, you don’t gotta eat with me but I’m definitely grabbing a bite.  we’ve arrived anyways.” Dave said. When he looked around Karkat took note of where he was, Dave had led him to a strip mall with a small burger joint and a comic book shop.  They’d both ordered and eaten when Dave gestured for Karkat to follow him into the comic shop. “HEY STRIDER, WHY’D YOU ASK ME TO HANG OUT? WE LITERALLY JUST MET, ALSO DON’T YOU HAVE LIKE, ANYTHING ELSE YOU COULD BE DOING?”  Karkat asked. “nope” Dave answered. “THAT SOUNDS LIKE BULLSHIT” He shot back. “keeps me out of the apartment, that’s really all there is to be said on the matter.” Dave said, halting any conversation there was to be had. “FORGET I ASKED”  Karkat said, following dave into the shop. 

 

About 4 hours had passed when Karkat’s phone started going off.  “SHIT! FUCK SORRY DAVE I GOTTA GO I FORGOT TO TELL MY FAMILY I WASN’T HEADED HOME ANYMORE, I’LL SEE YOU LATER MAYBE BYE.”  He said as he jumped to his feet and ran for the door. He began to reply to Kankri’s texts.

 

\-- globinChanneler  [GC]  began pestering carcinoGeneticist  [CG]  at 16:28 --

 

GC: Where are y9u?

GC: Dad is w9rried.

GC: I’m g9ing to keep messaging y9u until y9u answer me.

GC: Karkat.

GC: Karkat.

GC: 6r9ther.

GC: Si6ling.

GC: Y9u kn9w it can be very triggering t9 sit and wait f9r s9me9ne t9 resp9nd t9 a text when they haven’t t9ld any9ne where they were g9ing.

CG: OH MY GOD SHUT THE FUCK UP KANKRI I WAS JUST GETTING LUNCH WITH THAT GUY WHO YOU INSULTED ME IN FRONT OF.

GC: I didn’t insult y9u I reprimanded y9u f9r p99r cust9mer service.

GC: Regardless I d9n’t 6elieve that dating 9ur clients is the way t9 make up f9r it.

GC: And that still d9esn’t tell me why y9u’ve 6een g9ne f9ur h9urs past lunchtime.

CG: HOLY SHIT KANKRI I WASN’T ON A DATE WE JUST HAD BURGERS AND WENT TO A COMIC SHOP YOU’RE MAKING THIS A WAY BIGGER DEAL THAN IT IS.

CG: EVEN IF IT WERE A DATE IT WOULDN’T BE YOUR BUSINESS FUCKASS.

CG: I DON’T GO ACCUSING YOU OF FUCKING EVERY GUY WHO YOU STARE AT FOR MORE THAN 2 SECONDS.

CG: I’M HEADED HOME ANYWAYS.

GC: Y9u kn9w s9me pe9ple might find y9ur language very triggering Karkat, think 9nce bef9re y9u speak please.

CG: I’M NOT TALKING TO YOU NOW.

 

\-- carcinoGeneticist  [CG]  ceased pestering globinChanneler  [GC]  at 16:59 --

 


	2. Softly He Entered

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dave tries to figure out his feelings, to no avail.

He’d known what to expect when he got back to the apartment, a shitty replica batarang from one of those noble collection magazines landing in the door roughly an inch away from his head attached to a note telling him to come to the roof.  He knew that staying out for hours on end wouldn’t prevent the strife that was coming, because it was always coming, if it wasn’t coming that just meant that the next strife would be that much worse, but he stayed out for those hours regardless.  Anything to delay the coming clanging of metal and busting out of a first aid kit. Dave wasn’t surprised when he found himself lying on his back, staring into the evening sky with new bloodstains to clean up on his shirt, but he was surprised to find that he felt better now than he had in a long time.  He couldn’t pin down just what was different, it was a feeling like he found something he’d been missing for a long time, but he couldn’t think of what it was. He’d gotten breakfast on the go, no point in looking in the apartment for that, he’d grabbed lunch, and stayed out as long as possible at whatever store he could, nothing different from his usual routine, so why did he feel so good?  Was it that school was starting soon? No, school meant less strifes, but it didn’t mean an end to them altogether. He sighed and resigned himself to what he always did when he had an issue he couldn’t solve or get out of his mind, once he got cleaned up he’d have to talk with Rose.

 

The process was more familiar to Dave than tending one’s own wounds should be to anyone, administer anaesthetic, clean the cut with water and soap, get a disinfected needle and some silk thread, then hold the cut together and sew it shut, and though it wasn’t necessary, he bandaged the cut afterwards.  “fuck” he said, realizing his blood had stained his shirt badly enough that he’d have to get rid of it. “liked that one too.” He threw the bloody shirt into a trash bag and got out a fresh shirt, then moved to his computer, opening the chat window.

  
  


\-- turntechGodhead [TG] began pestering tentacleTherapist [TT] at 19:19 --

 

TG: rose you like analyzing stuff right?

TG: gettin into the fucked up nitty gritty of how humans work

TG: what junk they’re into and why its dicks

TG: c’mon don’t leave me hanging rose i’m offering prime psychobabble freudian slip combo value meal material here

TG: you eat that shit up    
\-- turntechGodhead  [TG] is now an idle chum! --

TT: I saw your message Dave, I just needed to prepare myself some chicken flavored instant ramen before our session began.   
TT: I have my cheap microwave ramen, now our session can begin.   
TT: So please, begin.

TG: so i had another strife with bro

TG: he kicked my ass of course

TG: but afterwards…   
TG: rose i felt great, I FEEL great

TG: better than i have in a long time

TG: and i don’t know why

TT: Mmhmm.

TG: i don’t think this is any of your “your en joyment you get out of being fucked up by bro shows you want a strong man to take charge with his dong in the bedroom ”

TG: its definitely not enjoyment of these strifes its like

TG: i feel like i found something that’s been missing for years

TG: but i don’t have a single fucking clue what that is

TG: and i don’t know what’s different enough to trigger this bc i just went through my daily routine like usual

TT: Why don’t you start by telling me what your daily routine is?   
TT: You know, so I actually have something to work with?

TT: I’m saving that bedroom comment by the way, I’m screencapping it and printing it out as we speak, I’ll stick your impeccable impression of me on the wall to address at a later date.

TG: so like

TG: i leave and get some breakfast

TG: i fuck around town for a few hours till like

TG: lunch

TG: then i fuck around town for a few more hours till i go back to the apartment

TT: Alright, now tell me what you did today, the more detail the better.

TG: i went to a donut shop

TT: Do tell.   
TG: would my order have any relevance here?

TT: I won’t know unless you tell me.   
TG: aight i ordered some donut holes and some of those sausage rolls

TT: I suppose those could represent a deep seated oral fixation on phallic objects, stemming from a repressed desire to date men, continue.

TG: doubt it

TG: the cashier was out of it or something, one of the other workers had to get his attention, he was kind of a dick about it too

TG: but yeah then i didn’t really do anything particularly eventful just cruised round town and checked out some shops

TG: ran into that cashier kid again though, he was kinda shouty, pretty sure he’s going to the same school as me this coming year

TG: think his name was like

TG: kakarot

TG: kal-el

TG: karkat?

TG: definitely that last one

TT: ...

TT: Interesting.

TG: uh huh i’m sure it is bet you’re sittin there sippin your cheap ramen thinking “ this boy’s gay as fuck ” 

TG: so many assumptions

TG: all wrong tho

TG: i’m straight as hell

TG: no man straighter

TG: gonna be a sideshow attraction “come see the world’s straightest guy”   
TG:  [ https://youtu.be/iS5WZoQGP4I ](https://youtu.be/iS5WZoQGP4I) gonna be like this guy right here you fuckin watch

TG: anyway i got some lunch with him

TG: then we read comics for 4 hours and he got a text and ran off

TT: Dave, brother dearest.

TG: yeah?

TT: I think you just made this *extremely* worth my time.

TT: I’m really looking forward to seeing how this plays out.

 

\-- tentacleTherapist  [TT]  ceased pestering turntechGodhead  [TG]  at 20:19 --

 

TG: wow   
TG: what the fuck is THAT supposed to mean?

 

\-- turntechGodhead  [TG] ceased pestering tentacleTherapist  [TT]  at 20:21 --

  
  
  


Dave was left to think on this for the rest of the night, and without actually having progressed on his earlier problem and with this new problem to consider, he let himself fall asleep.

 


	3. He Came Close Beside me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dave invites himself to d&d.

The week passed uneventfully, and Dave was up and out of the apartment by 7 on the first day of school.  It didn’t even start until 8, but he wasn’t going to wait around the apartment for Bro to show his face. It was whatever, gave Dave some time to get a meal before school, maybe hit up a WcNaldo’s and buy a couple bacon, egg and cheese biscuits.  He bought 3, and ate one on the way to school, which directed him to the gym to wait for a new ID card upon arrival. 

 

Thirty minutes into waiting, they had the tables set up by last name, and people were getting in line for their new i.d., though they weren’t really new, since they used your yearbook picture from the previous year and you inevitably looked bad in the pic, had changed substantially over the summer, or both.  Dave got up and walked into the line labeled “S-Z”, moving forward as the line did and generally avoiding eye contact with everyone. He’d gotten to roughly the middle of the line when he heard a voice with volume issues coming from about 6 people behind him.

 

“I’M NOT INTERESTED IN JOINING ANY CAMPAIGN RUN BY YOU AND YOUR SHITTY LOADED  **_‘‘‘FLUORITE OCTET’’’_ ** VRISKA, YOU’RE AN ADVERSARIAL DUNGEON MASTER AND YOUR CAMPAIGNS ALWAYS END IN A TOTAL PARTY KILL OR YOUR OWN SHITTY SELF INSERT NPC SAVING THE DAY AT THE LAST MOMENT.  THEY’RE A MESS OF SELF WORSHIPING HERO FANFICTION THAT NONE OF THE PLAYERS HAVE ANY IMPACT ON BECAUSE YOU ALWAYS HAVE TO TAKE THE SPOTLIGHT AND I’M FUCKING SICK OF PLAYING IN THEM.”  

 

Dave turned around to see exactly who he expected to, Karkat, displaying his ability to talk louder than any human would possibly need to, and upon this revelation he left his place in line to talk with the shouty 15 year old.  “hey man it’s been a couple days, hasn’t it? kinda wondered what happened to you when you took off like you did, but i suppose you’re fine considering you’re here now and you look as not hurt as you did last week.” Dave said. Karkat began to respond when he was interrupted by Vriska.  “Who’s this coolkid, Karkat? You ditching my awesome game for your new 8oy toy? That’s pretty l8me of you, but I suppose it’s all I can really expect from someone as l8me as you. I still expect you at session zero, 8e there, or don’t, depends on whether you wanna 8e a weenie a8out it.”  Karkat’s face turned red and he began ranting. “HE’S NOT- I’M- IT’S NOTHING LIKE THAT ASSHOLE! I’M NOT COMING TO YOUR GAME BECAUSE IT’S BAD STORYTELLING FROM A BAD DM, NOT BECAUSE I’M INTERESTED IN SOME SUNGLASSES WEARING SKATER KID! YOU-” Dave cut him off to interject his own feelings about her comments.  “listen vriska idk who you are or if karkles is blowing off your game cause he thinks i’m hot but we aren’t dating and i’m definitely not his “8oy toy” cause 1 i’m straight as the 50 yard baseball rink and 2 i ain’t into dudes so that wouldn’t work out in the first place, i just wanna make that clear as shit and i’m pretty sure i just did so we’re good and i’m not talkin about that anymore.”

 

Vriska was silent for a moment before speaking.  “...Whatever coolkid. Karkat, feel free to 8ring your 8oyfriend to the game, 8ut if you do he has to make a character too, no freeloaders on Mindfang’s ship.”  She then cut ahead in line, leaving the two of them to interact in whatever awkward way she created for them to do so. They sat in silence until Karkat’s stomach began growling.  “shit dude didn’t you eat breakfast? guess it’s good i bought three of these things, eat.” Dave said as he reached into the WcNaldo’s sack and brought out a biscuit, handing it over to Karkat.  “ARE YOU SURE? YOU DON’T HAVE TO DO THIS, REALLY, I’M NOT THAT HUNGRY.” He said, already having started to unwrap the biscuit while his stomach kept growling and he raised it to take a bite. He finished it in a matter of seconds.  “it’s not a problem bro, they’re cheap and you needed it more. if i  _ really _ needed a third one i could just sneak out of class and buy another, probably get a baked apple pie for some dessert to go too.  really not that big of a deal.” Dave answered. 

 

They followed the line in silence the rest of the way forward, each one taking their i.d. Cards and schedules and reading them as they left the gym.  “so we have the same 4th and 8th period huh? neat. english and history. what other classes you got? creative writing? never woulda pegged you as a writer on my own but i guess it makes sense what with your conversation with that vriska chick and how her storytelling was shit or whatever.”  “BLUH BLUH, SHE’S JUST A HUGE BITCH IS ALL. PLAYING THE GAME WITH HER IS SO ANNOYING BECAUSE SHE CHEATS TO NO END AND SHE REFUSES TO ALLOW YOU TO TAKE ACTIONS THAT TAKE THE STORY IN A DIRECTION SHE DOESN’T LIKE, EVEN IF THEY’RE PERFECTLY WITHIN THE RULES. IT’S FRUSTRATING AS FUCK.” He responded.

 

“that’s cool man, as for my classes i’m taking some theater and film classes along with all those good ol classicTM core requirements.  not a whole lot going on for me otherwise. it’s all quiet in and around my life. hey i know you don’t like her or her dming style but could we take her up on that offer of me coming to that dnd session or whatever?  i mean like minus the whole boyfriend thing because that’s dumb and gross, not to say that being like that is dumb or gross i’m just sayin it’s not for me is all, but do you wanna go? i got nothin else to do and maybe she won’t be as bad around more people, i don’t have any dice or character sheets but i can get some.  maybe some miniatures too, course i also gotta get the books to go along with it, which books do i need like will i be good with just a starter kit or should i get all the official books that are out for it with all the player options and everything? you said something about her being an adversarial dm so maybe it’d be best to get the monster manual and look up some tough homebrew monsters to prepare myself?  dude this is so much to think about i can’t believe i let you talk me into this.” “YOU’RE LITERALLY THE ONE WHO SUGGESTED IT AND YOU HAVEN’T LET ME GET A WORD IN EDGEWISE” “dude you drive a hard bargain but i’ll do it i’ll play your game you’ve convinced me.”

 

They walked a while longer until Karkat reached his class and Dave left him to head to his own class, waiting for their upcoming class together.

 


End file.
